Guillermo George, principal at Stevenson College & Career Prep What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? My journey as an educator has been driven by a commitment to promote equity, support Emergent Bilinguals, and ensure that students of color have access to the critical resources and encouragement they need to...
Jose Morales, principal at Roosevelt High School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? Coming to this country as an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, there were many hardships in my schooling experience that informed my desire to serve marginalized youth. Additionally, as a teacher serving families in the Westlake/McArthur...
Tamara Honegan, principal at Weigand Avenue Elementary School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? Growing up, my lifelong dream was to become a teacher. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children who looked like me. After years of teaching, I was encouraged by other educators...
Michael Messina, principal at 20th Street Elementary School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? My mother was my earliest inspiration—she always encouraged me to become a teacher. Although I initially pursued a degree in business administration, I later realized my true calling and returned to earn a master’s in...
Yumi Kawasaki, principal at Markham Middle School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? I never planned to be a principal; I wanted to retire as a teacher. I love the classroom because of the amazing educators I had and didn’t have growing up. I want to give students the...
Mario Garcielita, principal at Hollenbeck Middle School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? Initially, I was inspired to become an educator because I dreamed of one day becoming a head football coach at a major university. While that path didn’t materialize, I discovered a deep passion for working with...
Liz Daisy Morales, principal at Ritter Elementary School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? What inspired me to be an educator was the amazing teachers I had throughout my educational journey. As an English learner, I was fortunate to have teachers who were patient, truly cared about my growth,...
Luis Barraza, principal at Sunrise Elementary School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? Growing up as part of an underserved and underrepresented community, if I were to experience life success, I needed to be surrounded by people who believed in my promise and potential. These individuals were my teachers....
Sandra Sandoval, principal at Dolores Huerta Elementary School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? My brother inspired me; he was my strongest cheerleader, actually. I had just been laid off from Belmont Park as an Office Manager after working there for 3 years. It was one of my first...
Jordan Henry, principal at 49th Street Elementary School What inspired you to become an educator and, now, a school principal? I was inspired to be an educator in the mid-1990s when there was a teacher shortage and children across Los Angeles were experiencing consecutive years of no teacher or substitute teachers. At the time, I...
D’Anza Rodriguez is the Director of School Transformation, Secondary Literacy, at t the Partnership for LA Schools. D’Anza received her Master’s Degree in Education through UCLA’s Principal Leadership Institute. In her role, she works with school teams to positively impact student achievement results in literacy at the secondary level. — It is the fall of...
Joe Chang is the Chief People & Operating Officer at the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. He was the first in his family to earn his bachelor’s degree from UCLA, as well as a Master of Business Administration. “Under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family.” — Bruce Lee While I am...
